How does an auction hearing run? Bidding time, lowest bid and award step by step

By Pascal Szorath·June 15, 2026·9 min read·Updated on November 5, 2026

How an auction hearing runs: the call, the lowest admissible bid, at least 30 minutes of bidding time, bidding with ID. The award makes you owner at once.

Quick answers

How does the auction hearing at the local court proceed?

The court officer (Rechtspfleger) calls the case, reads out the auction conditions and announces the lowest admissible bid. Then the bidding time of at least 30 minutes begins, during which you bid with your ID and, if a security deposit is demanded, prove it at once. After the last bid, it is called out three times. The court then hears the parties and pronounces the award at the hearing or at a separate pronouncement date.

How long does a compulsory auction hearing take?

Allow one to two hours. By law, the bidding time lasts at least 30 minutes and is extended for as long as bids keep coming in; on top of that come the call, the reading of the conditions, the checking of the security deposits and the hearing on the award. Arrive in good time, because a party can demand security right after your first bid.

What do the 5/10 and 7/10 thresholds mean for the award?

If the highest bid, including the rights that remain in place, is below half of the market value, the court must refuse the award ex officio (5/10 threshold). If it is below seven tenths, a party whose claim would only then be covered can apply for refusal (7/10 threshold). If the award was refused on one of these grounds, neither threshold applies at the new hearing any more. A second hearing alone is not enough for that.

What happens if nobody bids at a compulsory auction?

If no valid bid is made, the court stays the proceedings (§ 77 (1) ZVG). They continue only if the creditor applies for this within six months; otherwise they are discontinued (§ 31 (1) ZVG). If a second hearing also ends without a result, the court discontinues the proceedings (§ 77 (2) ZVG). The 5/10 and 7/10 thresholds do not lapse because of this.

The first auction hearing of your own often feels intimidating. Yet it follows a clear sequence: the court calls the case, fixes the lowest bid and calls for bids. After at least 30 minutes of bidding time it hears the parties and decides on the award. For an overview of the whole procedure, see our beginner's guide.

Only go into the hearing once the property check, financing and security deposit are settled. For a quick shortlist, it pays to take a look at the risk classes beforehand, so that you do not discover striking appraisals only in the courtroom.

What do you have to bring to the hearing?

At the hearing you must identify yourself with a valid identity card or passport. This is not in the ZVG, but it is established practice for identification. Anyone bidding for others needs a publicly certified bidding authorisation, which must be available at once, or the court rejects the bid (§ 71 (2) ZVG). If several people want to bid jointly, a married couple for example, they state their shares, according to the notes for bidders of the Hessian courts.

You must also be able to prove your security deposit. A party can demand it right after your bid, usually 10% of the market value (§§ 67, 68 ZVG). Cash is excluded (§ 69 (1) ZVG). A bank transfer must be credited before the hearing, and the proof must be available at the hearing (§ 69 (4) ZVG).

What happens before anyone bids?

The court officer calls the case and announces the basics: the creditors pursuing the auction and their claims, the market value the court has fixed and the claims filed. The officer then fixes the lowest bid and the conditions of sale, naming each right individually (§ 66 (1) ZVG). The lowest bid covers the costs of the proceedings and the rights ranking ahead of the creditor pursuing the auction (§ 44 (1) ZVG). The court does not admit a lower bid.

Note every right named and recalculate your limit, because you take on rights that remain in place in addition to your bid. Only then does the court point out that further claims will be excluded, and call for bids (§ 66 (2) ZVG).

How long does the bidding time last?

At least 30 minutes must lie between the call for bids and the close of the auction (§ 73 (1) ZVG). This is a minimum: the auction continues until no more bids come in response to the court's call. Falling short of it would be a serious procedural error and leads to refusal of the award, even if all parties agree (§ 83 no. 7, § 84 (1) ZVG).

You do not have to bid straight away, and often the decision comes only towards the end. The notes for bidders of the Hessian courts nevertheless advise against starting only shortly before the bidding time ends.

How do you bid, and what applies to your bid?

You make bids orally at the hearing, not online or in writing, as the notes of the local court of Lingen state. You name only the cash amount. You cannot withdraw a bid once it has been admitted. It lapses when a higher bid is admitted and no party objects at once (§ 72 (1) ZVG), and also when it is rejected and nobody objects at once, or when the proceedings are stayed or the hearing is cancelled (§ 72 (2) and (3) ZVG).

If a party demands security after your bid, the court decides at once. If it considers the security necessary, you must provide it at once, or it rejects your bid (§ 70 ZVG). The demand also applies to your further bids (§ 67 (1) ZVG).

What does a hearing look like with actual amounts?

An invented example: a house has a court-fixed market value of €200,000. No rights remain in place, and the lowest bid is €12,000. The security is €20,000, and you have transferred it in good time. The times are chosen freely.

Time	What happens	Amount	What it means for you
10:00	Case called; creditors, market value and filed claims announced (§ 66 (1) ZVG)	€200,000	You compare the details with your notes.
10:15	The court fixes the lowest bid and the conditions of sale	€12,000	It does not admit a lower bid.
10:20	Call for bids (§ 66 (2) ZVG)		The bidding time runs; earliest end 10:50.
10:24	Bidder A bids	€60,000	The bank demands security from A, and A proves it (§§ 67, 70 ZVG).
10:41	You bid	€110,000	The bank demands security from you too, and you show the proof. A's bid lapses (§ 72 (1) ZVG).
10:49	Bidder A bids	€135,000	Your bid lapses. The earlier demand still applies to A (§ 67 (1) ZVG).
10:53	You bid	€150,000	That is 75% of the market value. The bidding time runs past 10:50 as long as bids come in.
10:56	The court calls the bid three times and announces the close of the auction (§ 73 (2) ZVG)	€150,000	No more bids are possible from now on.
11:00	The parties present are heard on the award (§ 74 ZVG)		At 75%, no value threshold stands in the way.
11:10	The award is pronounced (§§ 81, 87 ZVG)	€150,000	You are the owner (§§ 89, 90 ZVG).

At €150,000 you are above the 7/10 threshold of €140,000. Had bidder A's €135,000 been the last bid, an entitled party could have applied for refusal. The guide After the award continues the calculation with the same amounts.

When do you receive the award, and when not?

After the close of the auction, the court hears the parties present (§ 74 ZVG). The award generally goes to whoever made the highest valid bid (§ 81 (1) ZVG). Whether it comes to that also depends on the value thresholds, as long as they apply: below 50% the award is refused ex officio, between 50% and 70% an entitled party can apply for refusal, and from 70% neither threshold applies any more. Both count the highest bid including the capital value of the rights that remain in place. That does not make the award certain: the court also refuses it for other reasons, for example when the creditor consents to a stay (§§ 30, 33 ZVG) or a procedural defect exists (§ 83 ZVG).

The court does not have to decide at once. It can set a separate pronouncement date. Under § 87 (2) ZVG it should be no more than a week away, while the local courts of Dorsten and Braunschweig name one to two weeks in their notes, and the local court of Essen one to three. You remain bound by your bid until then.

What happens if nobody bids?

If no bid is made or all bids have lapsed, the court stays the proceedings (§ 77 (1) ZVG). The property stays with its current owner. The proceedings continue only if the creditor applies for this within six months; otherwise the court discontinues them (§ 31 (1) ZVG). If a second hearing also ends without a result, the proceedings are discontinued. On the creditor's application, the court can then continue them as compulsory administration if the requirements for that are met (§ 77 (2) ZVG).

This changes nothing about the value thresholds. They lapse only if the award was refused on one of them, and without a bid there is no such refusal.

From when do you own the property?

If the award is granted, you become the owner the moment it is pronounced (§§ 89, 90 ZVG), without a notary and without first needing a land register entry. After that, the award can be set aside only in complaint proceedings (§ 90 (1) ZVG). The land register is later corrected at the court's request (§ 130 (1) ZVG). No notary or estate agent fees apply to acquiring ownership. What comes next, namely payment, interest, taxes and risks, is covered in the guide After the award.

In brief

Bring ID and proof of security (and a certified authorisation if applicable).
Wait for the lowest bid, note every right and recalculate your limit.
At least 30 minutes of bidding time: you have time to decide, but an admitted bid binds you.
Award = ownership at once, no notary or estate agent fees for acquiring ownership.
Without a bid, the proceedings are stayed, and the value thresholds remain.

Note: General orientation, not legal advice. The court's official notice is what counts. Statutes checked on 31 October 2026.

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